The man responsible for bringing the animals on the Eldridge Park Carousel back to life has died.

Larry Pefferly died Nov. 26 with his wife, Jerry, at his side.

The original Eldridge Park carousel animals were carved in the 1890s, but the carousel was shut down and the animals auctioned off in 1989.

When Elmira dentist Robert Lyon discovered that all the carousel machinery was intact and conceived the idea of restoring the ride, his then-wife, Mary, was the one who found Pefferly through a website about his carving studio in Cornersville, Tennessee,

She is now Mary Kuehlewind, of Clarence, New York, but she clearly remembers the contributions the Pefferlys made to the carousel project.

"Larry and his wife, Jerry, were responsible for recreating the entire outer row of 20 animals for the Eldridge Park carousel in a span of three-and-a-half years," Kuehlewind said. "Their entire life for those years was spent carving, painting and 'making real' the animals for those who remembered Eldridge Park and those who would come to know it for the first time.

"Suffice it to say that these two individuals stayed with the project through thick and thin, and quite literally, in sickness and in health," she said. "Larry reproduced the animals by studying actual auction catalog photographs and personal photographs from enthusiasts that gave all in trying to help the project progress. His wife, Jerry, painted most every carving. The object was to produce a likeness of the original. Based on the tears of many of the people who were at the park for the grand re-opening, who had experienced the original when they were younger, all would agree that the re-creation was a huge success."

Sculptor Larry Pefferly with one of the animals on the Eldridge Park carousel in Elmira.(Photo: PROVIDED PHOTO)

Pefferly was not only a master carver but also a wonderful human being, said Eldridge Park Carousel Preservation Society board member Andy Avery, who had considerable contact with Pefferly during the restoration project.

"Larry was a class guy. He and his wife were both wonderful people, easy to work with," Avery said. "The main focus was the outer row so we would have the look of the original carousel, and he did terrific job. He was a third-generation carver. He really knew his trade. He was a wonderful person, really not only a carver and contractor for us, but a friend. It was a relationship we enjoyed."

Pefferly's father was one of the three sculptors who carved the famous 27-foot-tall Iwo Jima stone statue in Quantico, Virginia, and his grandfather made fine, inlaid and carved furniture, Kuehlewind said.

Walter Kowalski, of Horseheads, worked at the carousel back in the 1960s and '70s and later became a board member of the Eldridge Park Carousel Preservation Society. He was among the members who traveled to Tennessee to meet with Pefferly when the restoration project was in its early stages.

"He was a quiet-spoken man, a gentle man. He was a very great guy, and that’s what he did," Kowalski said. "He was a person I could respect. He was worthy of being able to bring that memory back of the park and of the carousel."

Pefferly was the right man at the right time to fulfill the vision Robert Lyon and other members of the society had for restoration of the carousel, said society board member Dr. Brian Cassetta.

"One thing I said many times over the years is Dr. Lyon's objective was to bring the world's best carousel horse carver to Eldridge Park, and he achieved that objective. He said, 'I want the best,' and he found the best with help from Mary," Cassetta said. "They found the best, and it was a perfect fit. He was the right guy for the job, and he embraced it and it worked so well. I got a chance to observe him working, and he was an expert, a professional — the best."

Smoke pours out of the nostrils of Jasper II on its premiere voyage from the new boathouse. Riding in front are characters from Indian folk tales: Newamee, daughter of the Great Sprit, who frequented Eldridge Lake, left, played by Pamela Piecuch, 27, of Horseheads; and Chiwenah, the maiden whose tears carved the gorge now known as Rorick's Glen, played by Wendy Ott, 36, of Horseheads. Jason Whong/Star-Gazette

A passenger enjoys the new flying scooter ride. The park will undergo major renovations before next year. A passenger enjoys the new flying scooter ridge at Eldridge Park on Sunday, the last day the rides were open for the season. JEFF MURRAY / Staff Photo